The Constitution of The Online Republic
The original draft constitution was created on Friday, August 17th, 2018. It was unofficially used as a temporary rules guideline until it was voted out of commission and replaced with the first official and elucidating charter. The official constitution has since then been made public on the #constitution channel on the country’s official Discord on Sunday, August 19th, 2018. Below is the first official constitution of The Online Republic, an Act initiating a Republic that will aptly be named “The Online Republic.” Preamble We the people of “The Online Republic,” having regard for the existence and future of our Homeland, which was established in 2018, seizing the possibility of a sovereign and democratic determination of its fate. We, The Online Republic - all citizens of the Republic, as well as those not sharing such faith but respecting those universal values as arising from other sources, equal in rights and obligations towards the common good. The Online Republic, bound in community with our citizens living in unity, aware of the need for cooperation with all countries for the good of the Human Family, desiring to guarantee the rights of the citizens for all time, and to ensure diligence and efficiency in the work of public bodies, hereby establish this Constitution of The Online Republic as the supreme law for the State, based on respect for freedom and justice, cooperation between the public powers, social dialogue as well as on the principle of aiding in the strengthening the powers of citizens and their communities. We call upon all those who will apply this Constitution for the good of The Online Republic to do so paying respect to the inherent dignity of the person, his or her right to freedom, solidarity with others, and respect for these principles as the unshakeable foundation of The Online Republic. What follows is based on the preparatory work for this Constitution in the Subreddit and the Discord. Chapter 1: Founding Values Article 1 – The Republic The Republic is a direct democracy respecting fundamental rights and the rule of law. No one person shall be discriminated against due to age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, social status, religion, or race. All citizens of the online republic have the right to vote, and are encouraged to do so unless that citizen has been declared incapable of voting. It shall be set down by law which crimes can be punishable with disfranchisement. Every person has a right to join The Online Republic, subject to immigration laws. Article 2 – Supremacy of Constitution The Constitution shall apply to all parts and citizens of the Republic. The Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic, and no person may infringe it. Laws that are inconsistent with this constitution are invalidated and as such are unlawful. Duties and obligations imposed by this constitution must and will be fulfilled. Article 3 – Rule of Law The Republic's activities shall hinge on and be limited by the Rule of Law. The Republic’s activity must be in the public interest of the citizen of the republic. Article 4 – Citizenship Members of the original Discord are Citizens of The Online Republic. Citizenship will be granted upon request to join the The Online Republic and evaluation of that request in the Discord. Once citizenship has been acquired, a child which is born or adopted through the union of two Citizens will automatically be granted citizenship of this nation. Any citizen who wishes to revoke their citizenship may do so freely and without reprisals. Any person who is subscribed to the Subreddit, but not a citizen, is considered a Temporary Citizen. Temporary Citizens enjoy the freedom of expression but not the right to vote. Article 5 – National Symbols The national flag is black, white, blue and green, as described by law, and such are the official colors of the Nation. Chapter 2: Bill of Rights Article 6 – Rights The republic must respect, preserve, support and carry out the rights in the Bill of Rights. The rights within the Bill of Rights are subject to limitations by the law only in cases which concerns the security and safety of the republic. Freedom of expression is an unalienable right of all citizens of The Online Republic. However, the freedom of expression can be limited by law if necessary. Article 7 – Application The Bill of Rights applies to all law, and binds the legislature and all organs of the state. A provision of the Bill of Rights binds a natural or a juristic person if, and to the extent that, it is applicable, taking into account the nature of the right and the nature of any duty imposed by the right. Article 8 – Life All individual persons have a right to life, may they be a citizen of the republic or not. Article 9 – Human Dignity Human dignity shall be respected and protected. Everyone is equal before the law and has rights to equal protections and benefits from the law. Nobody shall be discriminated against, particularly on grounds of origin, race, sex, age, language, social position, lifestyle, religious, philosophical or political convictions, or because of a corporal or mental disability. Legislation shall ensure equality in law, particularly in the environments of a family’s homestead, education, and work. Men, women, and children shall have the right to equal pay for work of equal value. No entity nor the republic may directly or indirectly discriminate against any entity. Chapter 3: Administration Article 10 – Political Organizations Any citizen has the right to propose the establishment of a political party. If the proposal to establish a party obtains at least five percent of the Citizens' upvotes, likes, or other forms of approval, it shall be reviewed by the authorities that may authorize it or not. Political parties have the right to a private channel on Discord. These channels may be used for activities such as but not limited to promoting support for proposals, drafting legislation, and electing internal positions. Article 11 – Legislation Any citizen has the right to propose a law, unless it violates the constitution. The process of properly doing so goes as follows. Proposal Any citizen may post a proposal on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Before the Wednesday deadline, if the proposal gains 10 upvotes, then the Moderator shall assign the proposal a legislative number and the proposal becomes a bill. Debate On the same week’s Thursday, the Moderator or the Vice Moderator if the Moderator is unavailable shall create a debate channel for each bill. In each debate channel, citizens may propose amendments to a bill. If an amendment gains 10 upvotes, then the Vice Moderator shall put it up for a simple vote, if a majority of votes are in favor, then the amendment is adopted and the changes are made to the original proposal. Vote After the debate and on the Saturday and Sunday of the week, the Moderator shall assign a date and time for vote on the final version of the bill. Citizens shall be given 24 hours to cast their vote. After 24 hours, the Moderator shall announce the result of the vote. If a majority is in favor, the bill is officially passed and becomes an Act. The Act is effective on the same week’s Sunday, if not specified otherwise. Journal The Moderator shall then record the Act in the official Online Journal. Article 12 – Moderators The Online Republic is moderated by a Moderator and Vice Moderator. The term of office of the Moderator and Vice-Moderator is 4 weeks. Any citizen has the right to run for the office of moderator and vice moderator. The proper election process is as follows. Election On the first Monday after the adoption of the Constitution, an election shall be held for the office of Moderator and Vice moderator. Citizens have one week to make known their intention to run for office, when 7 days is reached, a vote shall be taken. All citizens have the right to vote. After 7 days the votes shall be counted, and the two candidates with highest count of votes shall make it to a second round where citizens can only vote for one of these two candidates. The candidate with the highest number of votes is elected Moderator; the candidate with the second highest number of votes becomes Vice Moderator. This procedure shall automatically begin 14 days before the end of the term of the previous moderator. Replacement Upon the death, removal, resignation or any other reason that makes the Moderator unable perform his duties, the Vice Moderator shall become the Moderator for the remainder of the term. The new Moderator shall appoint a Vice Moderator subject to the approval of at least 51% vote by the citizens. If the Moderator is temporarily unable to perform his duties, then the Vice Moderator shall become acting Moderator for the period in which the Moderator is unavailable. Upon the return of the Moderator, the acting Moderator shall become the Vice Moderator. Impeachment If the Moderator and/or the Vice Moderator refuse to perform their duties on grounds not justifiable, or if they commit a crime, any citizen may lodge an impeachment proposal, if the proposal gets at least 10 upvotes in 4 days, then the #general channel becomes an Impeachment Channel and the Moderator or Vice Moderator is suspended from his or her duties. In the Impeachment Channel, the citizen who initiated the impeachment shall present the charges and the Moderator or Vice Moderator shall be able to reply to these allegations. After the hearing, if the Jury delivers a guilty verdict, then the Moderator or Vice Moderator in question is put to a vote of confidence. If the vote is ⅔ in favor of removal, then the Moderator or Vice Moderator in question is removed without delay and a new election shall be begin pursuant to the election procedure. Article 13 – Amendment of the Constitution Every citizen has the right to propose an amendment for the constitution. After a post is made in the correct Channel, and upon that Post receiving 15 upvotes, likes, or other forms of approval, the amendment shall be announced as a draft constitutional amendment. Within 7 days, citizens shall have the right to debate the amendment. Upon the eighth day, a vote shall be taken on the amendment, and if 65% are in favor of the vote, the amendment shall be passed, and the Constitution shall be modified. Article 14 – Entry into Force This Constitutional shall enter into force the day after its acceptance by solemn vote in the Discord. Transitional Clauses a. Upon entry into force of this Constitution, the Moderator and the Vice-Moderator shall also be the persons in office for the Subreddit.